


Of Wizards and Soldiers

by Staryday



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, M/M, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 01:25:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2904182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Staryday/pseuds/Staryday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud and Harry join the ranks of Shinra to rescue their friend. While there they attempt to reveal the corruption of the science department and Hojo but instead get caught in over their heads in a war they didn't even know was being fought. Can they save their friend and themselves before it's too late? Cloud/Zack Harry/Reno</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Chapter One:**

Three friends ran through the dark streets together, their feet pounding on the ground, kicking up dirt. The tallest of the three, a boy with messy spiked blonde hair, stopped abruptly, making his friends crash into him. He grabbed them both and shoved them behind a couple of barrels sitting in front of the inn.

“Stay here!” he ordered before running off.

The other, a boy with messy black hair and beautiful green eyes, shoved his friend behind him. The girl, a bushy haired blonde, grumbled in complaint. A moment later a group of five teens ran past. They were cursing angrily.

“This way!” the leader of the gang yelled. They ran off in the direction of the first boy.

“We have to help Cloud!” the girl exclaimed. “They're heading right for him, Harry!”

“I'll go, you get back to the house, Hermione,” Harry ordered. “Make sure Mama Strife gets the food.”

Harry ran off without a word, trusting Hermione to do as she was told. Harry ran around behind the Items store and quickly stopped, hiding behind the corner. Cloud was surrounded by the gang of kids, looking ready to fight. The bullies cracked their knuckles, chuckling darkly.

“Thought you could steal from us, did you? You and those other two are nothing but worthless freeloaders!”

“We didn't steal anything from you!” Cloud shouted. “That wolf was killed by a dragon and we cleaned and skinned it!”

“We found it first,” the leader of the gang, Terry, growled. He was tall, beefy teenager with small eyes. He was one of the strongest teens in town and often used his strength to bully or intimate others.

“Well I didn't see your name on it,” Cloud snapped.

Terry snapped his fingers and two of the guys grabbed Cloud's arms, easily pinning the much younger boy. Harry looked around for inspiration and smiled as he spotted a pile of firewood tied to the roof of the building. If he could aim his magic just right, he could break the rope holding the wood up and make it fall on the gang's head. While he carefully aimed his wand, the boys began to attack Cloud, punching him in the stomach. Harry forced himself to ignore it and released a spell. The light shot straight above everyone's head and hit the rope dead on.

The wood fell and landed on two of the bullies. The others let go of Cloud, who turned and kicked them hard in the shin before running away. The teens shouted after him as they ran but didn't continue the chase. Cloud and Harry didn't stop running until they made it to home. They stood at the gate, gasping for breath.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked in between breaths. Cloud nodded and stood straight.

“Nothing I can't handle,” he assured, touching his stomach gently.

The door opened and light spilled onto the street. Claudia Strife stood in the doorway, looking down at the boys in disapproval. Hermione was hiding behind her, biting her lip in worry.

“Boys!” Mrs. Strife snapped. “Inside, now!”

They hurried to do as told and Mrs. Strife shut the door after looking to make sure no one was on the street. She rounded on the children, hands on her hips.

“What did you three do this time?” she demanded, her voice angry.

“We didn't do anything mom!” Cloud exclaimed. “We found a dead wolf and brought the meat home!”

Hermione nodded quickly and pointed at the meat she had carried into the house.

“Then why are you all dirty?” Mrs. Strife stepped forward, lifting up Cloud's chin. “And looking like someone beat you up?”

Cloud looked away and Harry answered. “Terry's gang said the wolf was theirs but it wasn't! We found it first!”

“How many times have I told you boys to not get into fights! You are ten years old!” The blonde woman sighed, shaking her head. “One of these days something terrible is going to happen to you.”

The kids toed the ground, not answering. Mrs. Strife sighed again. “Go get cleaned up. I'll start dinner.”

Without a word the three children ran off upstairs. Mrs. Strife walked over to the table and looked at the meat. It was good quality; the wolf must have been in it's prime when it was killed. The winter would be coming soon and this meat would help get them through it. She would pack it in salt and freeze it but for tonight, she would cut up a part of it and the small family would have a satisfying dinner for once.

As she cooked, Hermione joined her in the kitchen, a book clutched in her hand. She smiled down at the little girl she had adopted two years ago.

“Do you need help, Mama Strife?” Hermione asked.

Mrs. Strife pointed at some carrots. “Wash those and chop them, please.”

Hermione quickly did as asked, humming happily. Mrs. Strife stared at the girl, remembering the first time they had met. She had been much smaller and much dirtier than she was now. Hermione and Harry had been lost in the Nible Mountains together. Cloud had found them on the outskirts of town one day, up by the old mansion, and managed to carry both children to the inn and call for help, saving their lives. The children had said their parents died and they had gotten lost trying to cross the mountains.

The villagers had been distrustful of the children, not liking the unnatural glow to Harry's beautiful green eyes or Hermione's vast knowledge of almost every subject. They had healed the children, of course, they weren't monsters, but didn't know what to do with them afterwards. When talk of sending the children away had come up, Mrs. Strife had decided to take them in, even though she barely had enough money to feed herself and Cloud. Really, she couldn't understand the people of Nibelheim sometimes. They took the time to heal the children and then wanted to send them away once the summer came?

Mrs. Strife shook away the memories. She had taken the two orphans in and was glad for it. Even though the three kids got into more trouble than all the other children of Nibelheim put together, she never once regretted her choice. Harry and Hermione were wonderful children and she loved them as she did her own.

Hermione walked over to her, carrying the chopped carrots. “I've finished, Mama Strife.”

“Put them in the pot,” she ordered. “We'll have stew tonight.”

A knock on the door interrupted them and Mrs. Strife frowned. She wiped her hands off on her apron and went to answer it. Standing there was the mayor, along with a group of villagers. Mrs. Strife recognized most of the people, particularly the parents of the teenagers who were always chasing her children.

“Can I help you, Mayor Lockhart?” Mrs. Strife asked coldly.

“There seems to have been a ruckus, Mrs. Strife,” the mayor began. “Mr. Sebastian claims some of his firewood was damaged and a rope of his cut.”

“How unfortunate for him.”

The Mayor waited for her to say more but the woman merely stared coldly. The man sighed.

“He believes your children might have had something to do with it.”

“Oh?” Mrs. Strife turned angry blue eyes on the man. He was not very large, like many men in the village, but what he lacked in size he made up for in arrogance. “And why would he think that?”

“Come off it, woman!” Sebastian yelled, spitting on the ground. “Your brats are always behind things like this!”

“You have been accusing my children for your misfortune since the day they arrived. Perhaps instead of blaming innocent kids, your time would be better spent oh, I don't know, tying your wood up properly so accidents don't happen?”

“The rope was cut!”

“And none of my children own a knife or are tall enough to climb your roof!” Mrs. Strife snapped, unfolding her arms and taking a step forward.

“They're not natural!” Sebastian shouted at her, looking around him at the other villagers.

“Why? Because Harry has beautiful eyes and Hermione is more intelligent than all of you put together?” She leaned into the man's personal space, her eyes narrowed with fury. “Unless you have some sort of proof I would appreciate it if you didn't slander my kid's good names because you are a lowly bigot who is afraid of children!”

“Now Mrs. Strife, let's not resort to name-calling,” the mayor interjected.

Mrs. Strife rounded on him. “You come here with a mob to my doorstep and you don't expect me to defend my family?” She glared at the crowd. “My children have done nothing wrong! Get off my property, all of you! You are not welcome here!”

Without any proof, the mob had no choice but to disperse. The Mayor shooed everyone down the uneven cobble steps but Mrs. Strife stopped them with her cold voice.

“Oh and Gene, tell your son that if ever attacks my boys again, he will have _me_ to deal with.”

Gene whipped around, stalking up to the woman. “Are you threatening my boy?”

Mrs. Strife didn't back down. “Yes.”

“Come along, Gene.” Mayor Lockhart jumped in between the two quickly.

Gene allowed himself to be pulled away, glaring at Mrs. Strife until he was back on the road. The mob dispersed, the mayor making sure Gene made it home without taking any detours. Mrs. Strife stayed on the porch with her glare firmly in place until everyone had vanished from sight. When she was sure no one was going to come back and start trouble, she turned and slammed the door shut behind her.

The children were sitting at table. Hermione was pouring the stew into bowls while Harry and Cloud were sitting quietly, looking angry. Mrs. Strife frowned at them and stood in front of Harry.

“Give it,” she ordered, holding her hand out.

“But I had to cut the ropes!” Harry whined. “They were hurting Cloud!”

She snapped her fingers and held her hand out again. Harry pouted and handed his wand over to her. Mrs. Strife turned and placed it on top of the refrigerator. She turned to Cloud.

“Lift your shirt.”

“I'm fine mom.”

She snapped her fingers again and Cloud stood angrily, lifting his shirt to reveal light bruising on his stomach. Mrs. Strife felt fury pool in her stomach.

“Get some ice from outside and keep it on your stomach while we eat,” she ordered.

Cloud did as he was told without complaint. The small family ate dinner in silence. When they were done, each child washed their bowl and kissed Mrs. Strife goodnight before going upstairs to bed. Once they were settled, she switched off all the lights and sat in the dark on the couch.

Claudia Strife never once regretted adopting Harry and Hermione. Her only regret was that they had to live in the small, narrow-minded town. Her children deserved so much better and, one day, she would make sure they got it.

~*~*~*~

**Six Years Later**

Cloud sat on top of the roof to the Inn, watching the soldiers down below. Harry and Hermione were next to him, looking down curiously. Shinra had arrived in the town late last night, causing a small commotion in the sleepy village. No one knew why they had suddenly shown up unannounced and were scrambling to make them feel welcome.

“Those are infantry men,” Cloud pointed out, indicating the men in blue. “They're regular army. That one there, is a Soldier Second Class. You can tell cuz he's wearing purple instead of black. Only First Class Soldiers wear black uniforms.”

“That guy looks like a scientist,” Harry pointed at a man who was walking with a slight hunch, his greasy black hair pulled into a ponytail. His face was scrunched up as if he smelled something unpleasant.

“I wonder what they're doing here?” Cloud asked. He and Harry turned to Hermione.

The girl raised an eyebrow at them. “How should I know?”

“I thought you knew everything.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I retain all the information I read.”

“And you remember everything everyone's ever said ever.”

“Well none of them have said anything to me so I don't know why they're here.” Hermione crossed her arms in a pout and the boys turned back to watch the soldiers. They were all heading to the mansion.

“Well we'd better get going,” Cloud sighed. “We still need to gather firewood.”

“It would be so much easier if Mama Strife let me use my wand,” Harry complained.

“There's too great of a chance of being seen,” Cloud said. “You know what the villagers would do if they saw your magic. It's not normal.”

“People in the city use magic all the time!”

“They use materia,” Hermione jumped in. “Materia is actually crystallized Mako that one uses their mind to activate. As such, using it too much can result in draining a person of their energy.”

“But I don't use materia, I use a wand. And I've never gotten tired from using that.”

“You're the only person in the world who uses a wand,” Cloud muttered.

“That's not true,” Hermione argued. “He's the only person we _know_ of. Harry inherited that wand from his father, which would imply his father could use it as well. And if it runs in the family, it's safe to assume there are other people in the world who use wands. We just haven't met them yet.”

“And we're never going to, living in this small-minded town.”

Cloud jumped from the overhang on the inn to the ground. Harry leapt after him while Hermione sat and carefully lowered herself down. Cloud reached up and helped her.

“When I become Soldier we'll go search for more people like you,” Cloud promised.

Harry rolled his eyes. “You've gotta join up first.”

“This summer for sure!” Cloud exclaimed. “I've finally managed to save enough money to afford the trip.”

Hermione wrapped her arm around Cloud's. “I'm going to miss you terribly.”

“Don't worry, once I make Soldier I'll be making good money. I'll send for all of you and you can come live in the city with me.”

“Sounds good to me,” Harry said. “This place sucks.”

“Why don't you come with me?”

“Nah, I'm not much of a fighter,” Harry shrugged. “I'll stay here and keep an eye on Mama Strife and Hermione.” He grinned at his adopted brother. “Just don't forget about us when you're a big time soldier boy.”

Cloud smiled and hooked his arm around his shoulder. “Never.”

Three laughed as they wandered into the forest.

~*~*~*~

Hermione sighed and hiccuped as she stumbled out of the local tavern. Even though she was underage, Hermione had made a deal with the owner of the pub. She did his accounting books and in return he let her get drunk when she needed to.

Hermione didn't particularly like getting drunk. She always felt terrible the next morning and often threw up. But Hermione had a very powerful mind and sometimes drinking was all she could do to shut it off for awhile. No one really understood how troublesome her perfect memory could be. She never forgot _anything_. Her mind was always working, always thinking. Even when she slept, problems and solutions ran through her dreams. Alcohol was the one thing she'd found that let her have a moments piece from herself. She wasn't proud of her drinking habit, but until she found something else to help her, it was all Hermione had.

As the girl stumbled along the road she thought she saw a figure walking towards her. Hermione wasn't worried though. No one in this town would touch her. Even though she was a striking woman with a curvy body and decent sized breasts, Hermione was the town outcast. No one liked herself or her brothers and wanted nothing to do with any of them. So it came as a great surprise when the person walking towards her stopped and stared.

“Excuse me,” she said, trying hard not to slur her worlds.

The man, he was dressed in a white lab coat, caught her arm. “Girls shouldn't wander around by themselves, especially in such a state.”

Hermione frowned and pulled her arm away. “I'm perfectly fine,” she assured the man. “I don't live far.”

“I suppose there is nothing better to do in such a backwater place than drink your life away.”

“I'll have you know I am quiet smart! I just need to turn my brain off every couple of nights.” She giggled and burped in a very unladylike manner.

“I'm sure you are,” the scientist rolled his eyes and began to walk away.

“I am! I have an eidetic memory!” Hermione's face fell and she looked away. “It's such a burden sometimes... no one gets it. They just say they wish they were like me.”

The scientist frowned at her. “People with eidetic memories are so rare that there are some who don't believe the condition doesn't exist.”

Hermione sniffed. Alcohol always made her so sad. “I wish.”

“Prove to me that you are the way you say.”

She glared at the man, feeling a rash of anger. “Why should I? I don't owe you anything.”

“I'm simply curious. From one person of intelligence to another.”

Hermione shrugged at that. If this man was as smart as he claimed it would be nice to talk to someone on her intellectual level. It wasn't that she thought Cloud or Harry were dumb, it was just that no one was as smart as her.

“Very well. When you first arrived in town you stayed in the inn. There were four infantrymen and one Second Class Soldier. Each infantrymen wore the standard blue uniform of Shinra but the youngest had a yellow stain the front, suggesting he just ate and spilled mustard on himself. The second infantrymen had tear below the knee in his pants. The last infantryman's uniform was well kept, suggesting he's more reliable than the other two. He had three freckles on his face in a circle on his left cheek. As for the Soldier, he was taller than the infantrymen by precisely two inches and had dark hair and gray eyes that glowed with the telltale sign of Mako enhancements.”

While she had spoken, Hermione had become tired. She leaned against the side of a building and closed her eyes, talking absently. She was sleepy and ready for bed. She couldn't even remember why she was talking anymore. Shaking her head, Hermione stood.

“I need to go home,” she said to no one in particular.

“Perhaps you would care to join me,” the scientist called. “I would like to study your memory a little more. It's such a rare gift.”

“More like a curse. I need to go to bed.”

“Put please, I insist,” the man grabbed her arm. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Even those with enhancements don't have the perfect recall you do. I would love to study you more.”

“I am not a lap rat!” Hermione exclaimed and attempted to push the man away. He didn't budge and she was feeling too drunk to fight back properly.

“No, you are much more than that, my dear girl.” He pulled the girl with him towards the inn. Hermione tried to resist but she didn't have the energy. All she wanted to do was go to sleep.

No one was awake to see her vanish with the scientist.

~*~*~*~

Two weeks later, Harry and Cloud came down from the mountains, both angry and sad. They made their way home, hanging their heads. Mrs. Strife was on the porch and ran to them.

“Anything?” she asked desperately.

They shook their heads.

“There's no sign that anyone's been up in the mountains recently,” Cloud reported dully.

“Where could she have gone?” Harry demanded. “This place is so small! We've looked everywhere!”

“She vanished the same day Shinra left.”

“You think they took her?” Harry demanded. “But why?”

“I don't know, but I'm going to find out.” Cloud looked up, a determined glint in his eye. “I'm going to Costa de Sol and joining up. Those Shinra creeps took her, there's no other explanation. I'll join Soldier and find her!”

“I'm coming too,” Harry declared. “Shinra's a lot more dangerous than we ever thought. You're going to need someone to watch your back and help search.”

“Boys...”

They turned to their mother. “Don't worry mom, we'll find Hermione. We'll find her and bring her back home.”

“The scientist who came here was named Hojo. If we find him, we'll find her.”

Mrs. Strife nodded, her eyes sad. She pulled the boys into a tight hug, kissing their cheeks. “I'm counting on you, boys. Find your sister and then all three of you come home safely to me.”

“We will mom,” Cloud promised.

“You can count on us,” Harry agreed.

They stayed together for a long moment before pulling away and heading home.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Harry collapsed on the ground when the instructor finally blew his whistle, signaling an end to the running. He could no longer feel his legs and his head was starting to spin from the extreme effort it took to keep running for two hours straight. Next to him, Cloud fell to his knees, panting harshly. He was in slightly better condition than his adoptive brother. Cloud's dream had always been to join Soldier so he had been training the last few months at home. Harry did not share that dream and hadn't joined him, a fact he was regretting horribly now.

Around them their squad mates were also collapsed on the ground, breathing hard. The instructor stood over them, looking down at the new recruits with distaste.

“What's this? Was running too hard for you pathetic little girls?” the man shouted. “You've been in Shinra for four months now! You should have better stamina than this! Get up, all of you! We'll do it again!”

A loud groan issued from all the recruits and one of them, a city boy named Davis, leaned over and vomited. The boys leaned away from him while the instructor scowled.

“Pathetic! All of you! You all dream of being a Soldier but can't even hack it in basic training! You know how long a Soldier runs? All day! Without getting tired or throwing up!”

“Yeah, they have Mako,” one of the boys whispered. Unfortunately the instructor heard him.

“You think it's all Mako? Mako enhances what's already there! You all have nothing! If we gave you Mako now, it would be wasted because you have no skills to enhance!”

Harry shook his head. “That's not how Mako works,” he whispered to Cloud. The blonde nodded.

“Take a ten minute break. Potter, get Davis to the bench and get water in him. We'll begin gun practice next.”

Harry stumbled to his feet and helped Davis to his, walking him over to the bench where the water cooler sat. No one else moved, staying where they had fallen on the grass. At least they didn't have to run for gun practice. They just stood in one spot and tried to hit the target. After Harry made sure Davis was okay, he grabbed everyone's water bottles and stumbled back to the group, tossing them tiredly at the boys. They all took them with grunts of thanks.

Harry sat next to Cloud again and leaned his head on his shoulder. He hated military life. All the shouting and running and mistreatment infuriated the young boy. He didn't see the point of making them run until they vomited or berating and making them think they were worthless. There were so many better ways to teach a person or make them stronger. He would have thought the military, with how many recruits it received, would have figured that out by now.

“I can't believe you wanted to do this,” Harry mumbled.

“It'll get better. It's hard now because we're weak. Once we start getting stronger things will get easier.”

“You've been saying that for four months now. I'm not sure I believe it anymore.”

“You're doing really well in the written portion,” Cloud pointed out. “You have the highest grades in the class.”

“Too bad the army wants brawny idiots like the instructor more than smart people like me.”

A shadow suddenly fell over the two and Harry froze. “Think I'm a 'brawny idiot' do you, Potter?”

Harry groaned, knowing he was in trouble.

“Well since you're already so smart, you don't need to participate in class for the rest of the day.”

Harry and Cloud eyed the man suspiciously.

“And since you won't be in classes, I don't think it's fair to the others if you sit around doing nothing. So why don't you get running?”

Harry blinked at him. “For how long, sir?”

The instructor smiled cruelly. “Why, until classes are over, of course. It wouldn't be fair for you to lie around.”

Harry's eyes widened. “But that's four hours from now! We've already been running for two!”

“Then I suggest you pace yourself, cadet. I will be back periodically –a smart boy like you knows what that means, right?— to check on you and make sure you're actually running.”

Harry fumbled for the right words to argue with but the instructor was having none of it. He shouted for Harry to get running and the boy forced his tired body to get up. Cloud sent him a worried look but Harry just shrugged. There wasn't anything left to do now but run.

Eventually everyone left for their next class, leaving Harry to run on his own. Cloud hung back for a moment but the instructor shouted at him to move his ass. Once everyone was gone, Harry stopped and flung himself on the ground. He checked his watch and set the alarm before relaxing, groaning at his sore body.

“Skipping class, yo?” a voice called.

Harry blinked his eyes open as a shadow fell over him.

“Reno?” he asked in surprise.

“Who else, yo?”

Harry sat up. He and Reno had met a couple days after Harry joined Soldier. The redhead had been pulling a prank on the new recruits when Harry and Cloud stumbled on him. In exchange for their silence, Reno had agreed to leave the brothers out of any future pranks. He had become a constant... presence after that. Harry didn't want to call him a friend, as he was rude and constantly insulting them, but he also didn't think Reno was a bad person. Really, Harry hadn't decided what he thought about the young Turk.

“I'm not skipping,” Harry answered. “The stupid instructor heard me call him an idiot and told me to run for the next four hours straight.”

“So why ain't ya running?”

“Because I'm not work chocobo! No one can run for that long without stopping!” Harry pouted. “He's such an idiot. He teaches all the classes today so he can't come check up on me until the break. So long as I'm running around during that time he'll never be any wiser that I'm sitting down now.”

“Most cadets wouldn't risk disobeying their CO, you know,” Reno pointed out.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Most cadets are idiots.”

The redhead burst out laughing. “I'm not gonna argue with ya on that, yo!”

Harry noticed movement near the door to the building and frowned at the bald man wearing sunglasses. It wasn't a particularly bright day, as it was fall, and sunglasses seemed unnecessary.

“Who's the guy watching you?” Harry asked.

“Hmm? Oh that's Rude, my new partner,” Reno answered casually.

Harry looked up in surprise. Turks always worked in groups of two or more. Reno was still technically a trainee but in his final year, so he was allowed to go on missions, as long as he had a senior Turk with him. Up until now, no one had been available to “babysit” the new addition so Reno had been stuck at headquarters. The redhead had shown his displeasure at the situation by causing all sorts of trouble and mayhem.

“What'd he do to get stuck with you?”

Reno whacked the boy on the head. “His old partner got offed on a mission or somethin' and now he gets the _privilege_ of working with me, yo.”

“I doubt that's how he sees it,” Harry laughed, ducking another hit. “Well congratulations. This means you can actually go on missions now, right?”

“Yeah, anythin' to get outta this fucking place! It's sooo boring, yo!” Reno flopped on the ground dramatically at the same time Harry's watch started to beep. With an annoyed sigh, Harry stood.

“Well I have to get running again,” he grumbled.

“Break's not for another ten minutes.”

“Yeah but I want to be out of breath so the instructor thinks I ran the whole the time.” He shrugged. “You know, make it more believable.”

Reno stood, wiping his clothes off. “Makes sense to me. Have fun, soldier-boy.”

Harry made a face at the pet name before turning and running around the track. Reno joined Rude, glancing over his shoulder.

“Kid's too smart to be wasted on Soldier, yo” he muttered absently. Rude merely stared at him before leading the way inside.

***

Cloud frowned at the target almost fifty feet away from him. His aim with a gun wasn't very good but at least he'd manage to hit it. Most of the boys around him had missed the large circle completely. Harry was a better shot, as he had to aim carefully when he used his wand. Cloud was decent with a bow and arrow, as that's what they used to hunt with in the mountains as none of the villagers could really afford guns. Using a gun, however was a lot different than his bow. Guns had recoil and left Cloud's shoulder sore and were much more powerful than his outdated bow.

After gun practice came sword training, Cloud's favorite class. The cadets were given dull broadswords and made to stand in straights lines. They practiced swings and proper forms over and over until most of the boys were too bored to focus. Cloud never let his focus wander though, as he wanted to be perfect. Soldiers often used swords over all other weapons and if he wanted to make it to First Class, he needed to be flawless in the basics.

The class ended and most of the boy's grumbled in complaint. Sword training had been the one thing everyone looked forward to when they first joined up but now it was like a slap in the face. What could have been the best class turned out to be one of the most boring. Cloud carefully returned his sword to the cabinet before following slowly after the rest of the cadets. His mind traveled to Harry and he hoped his brother was doing okay. He really didn't like running.

A hand was placed on Cloud's shoulder and the blonde jumped slightly, turning around. He blinked and stared in amazement at the dark haired man who was grinning at him. His hair was long and spiked down and his eyes shown blue with Mako. For a moment all Cloud could do was stair, his mouth hanging open slightly and his eyes wide.

“Hey, I saw you in class just now, you're doing great!” Zack Fair, First Class Soldier complimented with a wide grin. “They make you run through the basics like that to see who has the discipline to follow orders.”

He looked at Cloud expectantly but Cloud couldn't find his voice. He just continued to stair and Zack sighed. He smiled at the blonde in a resigned way, as if he was used to this reaction from cadets, which he probably was.

“Well you're doing a good job, keep it up, Spiky.” Zack walked away with a casual wave. He was almost around the corner before Cloud managed to find his voice.

“Thank you!” he called, his voice only catching once. Zack looked over his shoulder in surprise before grinning. He nodded and disappeared down the hall.

Cloud couldn't help but feel giddy as he sat down in the last class of the day, tactics. It was a class devoted to teaching military battle strategies and the theory behind using materia. Normally Cloud forced himself to pay attention, as he knew very little about the subject matter taught, but today he couldn't stop thinking about Zack. The First Class had singled him out out of everyone in the whole group to tell him what a good job he was doing. Him! Cloud! No one had ever singled the blonde out for something good before. Cloud barely managed to keep from giggling like silly school girl.

Once class was over, Cloud hurried to the track area. Harry was still running but didn't look as bad as Cloud had expected. He was tired, that was obvious, but he was still going slowly around the field. The instructor was yelling something at him to which Harry answered tersely. The man seemed satisfied and dismissed the younger boy, who collapsed on the ground now that his punishment was over. Cloud quickly grabbed some water and ran over to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, sitting down and holding out the drink. Harry drank it carefully.

“Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I stopped running when no one was around.” He leaned back on his hands. “Even so, I'm exhausted! I don't ever want to stand again.”

“Let's get some food in the mess hall and you can go to bed early tonight,” Cloud suggested. “Lay down, I'll stretch your legs for you.”

“What?” Harry muttered.

“You need to stretch. You're going to be sore after all this running but it'll be worse if you don't stretch.”

“I'm not moving.”

Cloud shook his head and shoved his brother down on his back. He lifted Harry's leg bent it in towards his chest. Harry groaned but didn't argue as Cloud carefully helped him. Once he was done, Harry grinned lazily up at the blonde.

“You should carry me to the mess hall too.”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “You're not that helpless.” He reached down and pulled Harry to his feet. “And if you would keep your mouth shut this kind of stuff wouldn't happen.”

Harry scowled at him. “I don't buy into it. I know you want to be a Soldier, but the army is just terrible sometimes. How do you expect someone to learn when you're just berating them constantly?”

“It builds character.”

“No, it builds resentment. We need to find Hermione quick before I get kicked out for some crap like insubordination.”

Cloud nodded solemnly. That was a definite possibility.

~*~*~*~

Another two months passed and the two boys had been cadets for six months now. Harry had learned to keep his mouth shut (most of the time) and started to improve. Cloud had steadily climbed the ranks in his class and was now in the top five. That day all the cadets were going to be judged by a group of first and second Soldiers. Their teachers had been drilling them harder than ever to prepare for the grueling tests. It was rumored that if a cadet didn't perform up to standard they were demoted and sent to the regulation army, crushing any dream they had of becoming Soldiers.

It was early morning and Harry and Cloud were the only two awake in their bunk of four. The other two boys were from the city and used to sleeping in late. Secretly, Cloud didn't think they would make it past today. The boys, Chris and Steven, weren't doing well in classes and had a lot of trouble keeping up in physical training. After six months of being in Shinra neither boy had shown much improvement.

Harry exited the very small bathroom attached to the bunker, his hair dripping wet. The sun was just starting to raise but they couldn't see it, since there were no windows in the bunkers. Cloud was relaxing on his bed, waiting for his turn in the shower.

“You nervous?” Harry asked quietly, not wanting to wake the other two. Usually Cloud woke them when he finished with his shower.

“Yeah, if we fail today, we'll be washed out.”

Harry nodded and dried his hair with his towel. He didn't even both trying to comb it. “I'm nervous too. If we get sent to the regular army we'll never be able to find Hermione. I can't believe it's been six months since she was kidnapped.”

Cloud stared down at the bed sadly. “She's strong, I know she'll be able to survive anything until we can find her.” He looked up at Harry hopefully. “And if we pass today we'll have access to more of the building. We've already searched everywhere we're allowed to go and come up empty handed.”

Harry nodded. “I also heard that sometimes cadets get chosen by Soldiers for personal training. If we can get chosen for that we'll have even more freedom to search around.” Harry smiled slightly and shrugged. “Well, if you get chosen, that is.”

“You're doing fine,” Cloud insisted.

“Sure, but that's all I'm doing. I'm not interested in becoming a Soldier, Cloud. I just want to find our sister and take her back to Mama Strife.”

“We'll find her,” Cloud assured. “After we pass the tests today we'll be in a better position to do it. Don't worry, we won't give up.”

Harry sighed. “It's not us giving up that I'm worried about.”

Cloud didn't answer as he slipped into the bathroom to shower. His muscles were tense with nerves. So much was riding on this simple test, whether he could continue his search for Hermione and continue to pursue his dream of becoming Soldier. He could tell Harry was nervous too as the boy couldn't sit still. They finished getting ready and woke their bunk mates before leaving for the mess hall.

As usual, Cloud and Harry were some of the first to arrive. They sat down, poking at their horrible food moodily. Cloud forced himself to eat half of his breakfast but stopped when his stomach grumbled in protest. Harry ate a single bite before shoving the plate away. The mess hall slowly began to fill with cadets. Like Harry and Cloud, most of the boys only ate a couple of bites of food before giving up.

Eventually everyone made their way to the training grounds where the instructors were waiting. Harry and Cloud joined the line and Harry fingered his wrist. Cloud noticed the gesture and leaned over.

“Do you have your wand?” he asked quietly.

Harry nodded. “I brought it just in case things went bad,” he explained. “If it looks like we're about to fail I'll cast some magic to give us a boost.”

“That's cheating!” Cloud exclaimed.

“So? We're here to rescue Hermione, not join Soldier.” Harry glanced over and caught the angry look on Cloud's face and rolled his eyes. “Fine, I'm here for that.”

“I want to save her too! But using your magic is too dangerous! Everyone's going to be watching us. Who knows what they'll do if they see you casting spells with a wand?”

“I'll be discreet and I won't do it unless necessary.”

Cloud grumbled, looking away. He didn't like the idea of cheating and he certainly didn't want anyone to know about Harry's strange version of magic. Hermione had been treated terribly enough for her powerful mind, it frightened Cloud to think what would happen to Harry if anyone discovered his powers.

All the cadets finished lining up and their instructors began ordering them into groups. Harry and Cloud were separated, Cloud joining Chris, his bunk mate, and two other cadets he didn't know, while Harry was grouped with three boys he'd never met. As they were doing this, second and first class Soldiers began to file onto the field and into the bleachers. They didn't address the cadets or even seem to be interested in them at all, but the cadets suddenly felt nervous and began to shift uncomfortably.

Cloud glanced at the bleachers and was surprised to Zack Fair bouncing around them, saying hello to everyone before he stopped to sit with a large man with broad shoulders and a square face. Without warning Zack looked up and his eyes met Cloud's. The blonde gasped and blushed lightly when the Soldier smiled and mouthed “good luck.”

Cloud quickly turned back to the instructor and focused on what they would be doing.

~*~*~*~

Zack couldn't contain his energy as he ran around the bleachers, saying hello to everyone he knew and introducing himself to those he didn't. The other Soldiers weren't nearly as excited as Zack was to be sitting on the old bleachers on a cold day watching the new kids makes fools of themselves. The tests were really more of a formality and, despite what the rumors said, very few people failed them. A cadet had to screw up royally to be booted out of the program this early on.

Zack finished chatting with Kunsel before plopping down next to his mentor Angeal. The man as usual, was sitting with perfect posture and grace. His face was kept neutral as he observed the cadets on the training field. Zack looked up to see them too and was surprised when a pair of pretty blue eyes was watching him. He grinned and whispered the guy a good luck, laughing when the blonde's face turned bright red.

“See something you like?” Angeal asked calmly.

Zack grinned at him. “They're just too cute! All the cadets are just small and nervous and freaking out like we're going to jump of these bleachers and eat them!”

A Second Class Soldier named Mario spoke upon hearing Zack's words. “There are couple down there I wouldn't mind making a nice meal of, if you know what you mean.”

The guy sitting next to him rolled his eyes and elbowed his friend in the stomach.

“Ah sorry, going through a bit of a dry spell,” Mario laughed. “Just got an injection the other day and it's really getting to me.”

“I understand,” Zack nodded sympathetically. Getting injected with Mako was no picnic. Everyone reacted differently to it, some became raging angry and nearly homicidal, some became uncontrollably horny, like Mario, and others had hallucinations. Even after years of getting them, the effects didn't lesson any and the Soldiers simply learned how to deal with it.

A whistle blew and all the cadets began moving as one, performing their the basic sword style they had been taught. Zack ignored them and turned to Angeal.

“So what are Gen and Seph up to these days? I haven't seen either one of them for a while now.”

“Sephiroth had to travel with the president to Junon and Genesis was assigned a mission in the Gold Saucer.”

“The Gold Saucer?” Zack asked in surprise. “What the hell is he supposed to be doing there?”

“The Saucer may be a tourist destination but it's also a breeding ground for illegal activity. Many criminals meet there to make their plans.”

Zack nodded seriously. He was slightly jealous that Genesis had gotten to go on that mission and not him. Zack had never had the money to go on vacation until he became Soldier and would have loved to see the famous casino/amusement park. Then again, that's probably why he didn't get chosen; he would have been too easily distracted to perform his duties properly.

There was a thud on the bleachers and Zack and Angeal turned to see Reno, Rude, and surprisingly, Tseng step onto the bleachers. The three walked straight to Angeal, nodding absently at the Soldiers who saluted Tseng. Tseng took a seat while Reno and Rude leaned against the railing.

“Hey what are you guys doing here?” Zack asked pleasantly.

“The Turks are required to observe the new cadets during tests and exams,” Tseng explained shortly.

“Yes, but why are  _you_ here doing that?” Angeal pressed. “Surely someone of your status could find others to do this?”

Tseng glanced at him. “I could same the same for you.”

“I happen to enjoy watching the new talent. It's refreshing to see such passion and people so full of dreams.”

Reno snorted at his answer and rolled his eyes. Angeal ignored him while Zack pouted slightly at the dismissal of his mentor. “Well you guys are late, they started ten minutes ago.”

“Did anything interesting happen?” Reno drawled.

“No.”

“Then we're not late.”

Reno laughed while Zack scowled, turning back to watch the cadets. They were in the portion where the instructors shouted questions at them and they had to answer quickly and efficiently. Zack hated this part. He remembered all the written tests he had taken, most of which he failed. It wasn't that Zack wasn't smart –he wouldn't be a First Class if he weren't— but taking tests was not his strong point. They were so boring and tedious that his attention span didn't last long enough to do a good job.

The blonde boy Zack had caught staring was answering now in a quiet voice. The instructor ordered him to speak up and he repeated himself, this time talking louder. Zack noticed another cadet further down the line scowl at the teacher. His green eyes narrowed and he fingered his wrist as if he wanted to pull a dagger from his sleeve and attack the man for yelling at his friend. Zack couldn't help but smile; he loved seeing such good friends being protective of one another.

As the questions came to an end there was a five minute break before they would start with the next test. Up until this point, the cadets had never fought with each other one on one. All their sword training had been with dummies but no actual people. Today would be their first time fighting a living opponent. The instructors did this on purpose to see who had a natural instinct for sword play and who could perform well under pressure.

Zack turned to the Turks with a smile. “So you guys watching anyone in particular?”

“Nope,” Reno shrugged. “Just here as a formality.”

“I'm cheering for the little spiky blonde kid!” Zack announced. Everyone glanced at him. “What? I like him! I've seen him in class and he works really hard.”

“You getting all moist for a cadet, porcupine?” Reno teased. “You know that's not allowed, riiiight?”

Zack rolled his eyes but the Second Class from earlier, Mario, spoke up. “Gaia I wish that weren't true, some of these boys are just so—”

Once again his friend elbowed him in the stomach and Mario coughed, not finishing his sentence.

“You know, Mario, if you're that desperate I'm sure Reno over there could hook you up with someone, if you know what I mean,” Zack offered.

“Hey yo! What makes you think I know people like that?”

Zack stared at him and Reno scowled.

“That's okay, Zack,” Mario interrupted. “I'll be fine in a day or so. This never lasts long.”

They turned back to the cadets who were now paired off and ready to fight. This was the only part really worth watching for the Soldiers as they were curious if there was any talent among the new recruits. Everyone fought at the same time as it would take far too long for the many cadets to take turns. It didn't both the Soldiers though, who could tell who had a knack for sword play within moments of the mock fight starting.

Zack's eyes scanned the cadets and he flinched slightly as he spotted a boy with red hair slip and fall. The kid scrambled to his feet, looking mortified and probably praying that no one had seen that. He definitely didn't have what it took to be a Soldier. Zack spotted the spiky blonde he liked and watched the fight with interest. The cadet Spiky was fighting was trying to use his larger size and superior strength to overwhelm him and, for a moment, it looked to be working, but then the smaller boy surprised him by dropping his sword and rolling forward before shooting up and punching his opponent in the jaw. The large boy stumbled back and the smaller one used the opportunity to disarm him.

Zack grinned at the display, pleased with what he saw. They didn't teach moves like that in basic training, proving that the blonde had talent. Zack continued to survey the group until he spotted the dark haired boy who had glared protectively on his friend's behalf earlier. He was holding his own in his fight, performing the basics of sword play flawlessly, but he didn't have the instinct to do anything beyond what he'd been taught. His opponent was a teen of medium build who suddenly darted forward, kicking up sand into the boy's face.

“Tsh, cheep move,” Zack complained to himself.

The dark haired boy was disarmed quickly but instead of giving up, he lashed out. He kicked the man in his shin and reached into his sleeve but before he could pull out whatever he had hidden there, the blonde appeared and grabbed his wrist. Zack raised an eyebrow as they stared each other down before the dark haired youth turned away, allowing himself to relax.

“Huh, that was almost entertaining, yo,” Reno muttered. Zack glanced over and realized the redhead had been watching the same fight. “Wander what he's got hidden up his sleeve?”

“He's lucky Spiky stopped him from pulling it out,” Zack commented. “Would have gotten into a lot of trouble if he'd drawn a weapon that wasn't part of the test.”

“That blonde you like did well,” Angeal spoke up. “He has good instincts in a fight.”

“Right, right! He took that guy down easily!” Zack bounced up and down and the instructors below dismissed the cadets, telling them they had the rest of the day off and the results of the test would be announced tomorrow. Zack jumped to his feet and yelled goodbye to his friends. He wanted to see the blonde and congratulate him on doing a good job.

Zack missed the questioning look Reno sent to Tseng, who nodded slightly. The redhead smirked and sauntered away down the bleachers after Zack. Angeal glanced at the lead Turk.

“See someone you like?”

Tseng merely shrugged. “Perhaps.”

~*~*~*~

Cloud and Harry were standing off to the side of the training grounds away from everyone else. While the other cadets were eagerly discussing how well or poorly they thought the did, Cloud was lecturing his brother.

“What were you thinking?” he demanded.

“That guy pulled a cheap trick to beat me!”

“So what? You were just going to pull your wand out and curse him right in front of everyone?”

“No!” Harry yelled, sounding childish. “I was just going to jinx him a little...”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “You have to stop being so reckless! Start thinking before you act! If you had been caught there's no telling what would have happened! The least of which would be us not finding Hermione.”

Harry looked away guiltily but before anything more could be said, someone ran up to the arguing pair. He stopped in front of the two, not noticing the tense atmosphere.

“Hey! There you are Spiky!” Zack smiled widely as he stood before the two brothers who were staring at him openly. “I saw you out there, you did great! You have a natural talent for swordsmanship!”

Cloud turned bright red. “Th-thank you Lieutenant!”

“Oh, you don't have to call me that! My name's Zack, so just call me Zack! I don't like formalities. I have to use them on missions though, be all proper and salute and call everyone by their titles and what not, but when I'm here at Shinra I prefer to be much more casual.”

He continued to smile at the slightly shell shocked teens. Zack slowly realized the two were just gawking at him like idiots and probably weren't going to stop anytime soon. His grin fell slightly as he pondered how he could get them to calm down and loosen up.

Zack's answer came in the form of a redheaded Turk. Reno sidled up to the group, his cocky grin in place. “You talk too much, Fair.”

“Hey Reno, what are you doing down here?” Zack asked. He completely ignored Reno's comment about talking too much. Really, Zack had heard those words from so many different people on so many different occasions that he considered them to a special greeting just for him. After all, how many other people could say they were greeted at least once a day by someone saying they talked too much?

“Just came to say hey to my buddy as his bro,” Reno shrugged.

Zack whipped around. “You two are  _brothers_ ? But you don't look anything alike! You're like, complete opposites!”

Cloud and Harry shrugged. “I'm adopted,” Harry said shortly.

“Oh,” Zack rubbed the back of his head. “Well that explains that. Hey what are your names, anyway?”

Since Cloud didn't seem to be able to speak at the moment, Harry answered for both of them. “I'm Harry Potter, he's Cloud Strife.”

“Cloud really? That's such a funny name! Were you born on a rainy day?”

Cloud blinked at strange question. Harry titled his head and glanced at Reno, silently asking if this guy was insulting Cloud or if he really was that dumb. Reno smirked and shrugged. Harry turned back to Zack, surprised that a First Class wasn't smarter than this.

“Uh anyways,” Zack pressed on when no one answered. “I just wanted to say good job on the test.”

Cloud finally snapped out of his daze and found his voice. “Thank you. We were pretty worried this morning but it turned out to not be that bad.”

“Cadets always blow things out of proportion,” Zack assured. “Though they have some help exaggerating things...” he glanced shrewdly at Reno who just smiled.

Reno turned to Harry. “You need'ta get used to dirty tricks, a lot of people are gunna use them, 'specially if you're better than them.”

Harry flushed slightly. “You saw that?”

“Saw you reaching for somethin' up your sleeve, yo” Reno teased.

Harry instinctively hid his arm behind his back, making Reno grin viciously. Cloud scowled at the redhead and moved closer to his brother. Cloud knew the two were friends but he didn't approve. Reno was a Turk and the Turks had a bad reputation. Not to mention Reno himself was rude and completely disregarded any and all social niceties.

“Whatever you've got hidden up there, I'd hide it better next time, yo. The first place anyone checks is up the sleeve.”

Harry nodded slightly and looked away, embarrassed at being figured out so easily. Cloud continued to glare at Reno until Zack spoke again.

“Whatever, the test is over. You guys hungry? I can take you upstairs to the good cafeteria. It has actual food!”

Harry and Cloud looked excited at the idea of actual food, especially since they had skipped breakfast but Zack and Reno's phones rang at the same time, surprising them. They each answered the ringing.

“Hello!”

“Yo.”

Both were silent for a minute before Zack looked over at Reno in surprise. Reno was frowning and hung up his phone. A second later Zack did as well.

“Guess we'll have to take a rain check on the lunch,” Zack shrugged. “Got a mission with some Turk.”

“Yeah, got a mission with a Soldier. Sure hope it's not a stupid one, yo.”

Reno turned and left without so much as a goodbye. Zack grinned and congratulated the two once more before running off after Reno. He slung his arm around his shoulders, ignoring Reno when the redhead tried to squirm away. Once they were gone, Harry turned to Cloud.

“That was strange.”

Cloud nodded before shaking his head quickly. “You see what I meant about your wand! Now let's go put it away and get some lunch.”

Harry nodded and followed his brother without question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I thought it would be fun to make Harry a Turk, since he's already stated he doesn't want to be a Soldier. Plus I love Reno and this is a perfect excuse to have Reno around a lot. I also enjoy writing Zack. He's one of my favorite characters ever.
> 
> Thanks for reading, pretty please review?


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